Immigration (Bulgaria and Romania)

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s intervention, because he prematurely comes on to points th...

I am glad that the hon. Gentleman understands the Liberal Democrat policy better than I do, becau...

We will have to wait and see the detail. In general, I do not support the policy, but in terms of...

On that point, let us clarify that it is not Government policy to have any sort of bond at the mo...

That is right, but I take the Deputy Prime Minister’s words on bonds seriously. Clearly, I would ...

The hon. Gentleman did not say, but I presume that he means non-EU nationals, because if he means...

In my preamble, I said that I would be speaking about non-EU immigrants before coming on to the p...

Does the hon. Gentleman share my view, then, on this matter? Would he like to see prosecutions br...

Of course. I think that there would be consensus on that issue and I hope that there will be cons...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his speech. I also praise him for his reference to the BBC “News...

My hon. Friend makes a very helpful contribution to the debate, as he always does. I am grateful ...

I sympathise with the hon. Gentleman’s point about people from other countries using the NHS, tho...

No, not at all, but the hon. Gentleman’s point is a bit of a red herring. He is right: 1.4 millio...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I shall move on to jobs after I give way to my hon. Friend.

My hon. Friend has made a robust case. I represent this area, which has two big hospitals— St Mar...

I was not making a party political point; I was merely making a statement of fact. The Government...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I shall give way to my right hon. Friend after my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and...

My hon. Friend makes a fair case about trying to change attitudes in the NHS—among GP commissione...

I give way to my right hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Nicholas Soames).

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his speech on this important matter. I endorse his point. There ...

I am grateful to my hon. and right hon. Friends for their interventions. My hon. Friend the Membe...

All that would allow Britain to do would be to enforce the rules we currently have because we do ...

I am not saying that there is a legal route, but as a politician I do not subscribe to the view t...

Based on our existing treaty obligations, the only way in which the hon. Gentleman could do that ...

No, not at all, but on the issue of leaving the EU, thank goodness that at last, because of the C...

The hon. Gentleman is being absolutely preposterous in his argument. He knows perfectly well that...

We will wait and see—we do not know whether what I have said will happen in the short term—but, a...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Walker. I apologise to the hon. Member for ...

I do not say this in a tongue in cheek way, but the right hon. Gentleman was the Minister for Eur...

The hon. Gentleman will have to wait for my memoirs to get all the information, but he is right t...

Does the right hon. Gentleman not recall whether, since other countries had transitional controls...

At the end of the day, although one wants to big oneself up as Minister for Europe, the decision ...

rose—

Christopher Bryant.

Only my mother calls me Christopher, Mr Walker. However, while reading recently, I was struck by ...

My hon. Friend was my successor as Minister for Europe, and I do not know whether he had the chan...

The right hon. Gentleman seemed to say that the questions that should have been put were not put,...

Not really, because I finished being Minister for Europe in 2001, and enlargement took place in 2...

May I gently correct the right hon. Gentleman? I am following his speech closely. The 50,000 peop...

That is extremely helpful. That is the figure I have.

Let me move on to the next report tha...

Does my right hon. Friend accept that one very real difficulty in estimating the numbers likely t...

That is absolutely right. In addition, of course, a number of other countries will also lift thei...

We need to learn the lessons of the past properly. Three members of the Public Accounts Committee...

It is important that the matter should cross Departments. Yes, there was some work—I cannot remem...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the first time, Mr Walker. I hope that you ...

It is a huge pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Walker. I congratulate my hon. Friend ...

Mr Hollobone had the floor, but before I bring him back, as it were, it might be worth mentioning...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Howarth. I think that a few Members thought...

I pay tribute to the excellent work that my hon. Friend has done on this issue over the past few ...

I am most grateful for my hon. Friend’s helpful intervention. I praise the work that he does on b...

My hon. Friend is attacking this from the wrong end. It is no good saying, “What happened in 1066...

I do not think that my hon. Friend and I disagree. I was trying to say that the British public ex...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful case. Will he set out the difference between a residency card...

A residency card is not an identity card in that sense, but there would be a requirement for EU n...

My wife’s job is to find schools for children from the new arrival community. The question is not...

Yes. The hon. Gentleman makes a good point, and I congratulate his wife on the work she does.

I want to correct that point, because people do not receive full entitlement to all benefits as s...

That is right, but my constituents would say, “Why should someone from another EU nation state ar...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for The Wrekin (Mark Pritchard) on securing the debate. ...

Order. If the hon. Gentleman is making a general speech about immigration, he needs to relate it ...

Thank you, Mr Howarth. The next paragraph comes on to that very issue.

I am concerned that ...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Howarth, and to speak in the debate. I cong...

I think the biggest difference that matters legally in the EU is whether a benefit is contributor...

I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s intervention, and I understand exactly what he is saying. I was co...

I want to add a note of balance. I came to the London marathon to watch my son run, and it was di...

When we talk to people on the doorstep, as I am sure the hon. Gentleman does regularly, they gene...

The petition that generated such a response focused on the desire to extend for a further five ye...

My hon. Friend raises an important point on the principle of always testing, because however expe...

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. In terms of veterinary science, I was not aware of ...

Order. The hon. Gentleman is making a very interesting point and making it very fluently, but per...

Mr Howarth, you bring me on to the crux of the point. We already have a concentration of HMOs in ...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on raising that point. I think that actually it is a big point and ...

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I have raised the point repeatedly with Ministers; ...

I have not come across that point before and I am most grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for the opportunity to clarify my remarks. It is a wider point. ...

Thank you, Mr Howarth, for allowing me to speak. I apologise for not being present for the whole ...

Has the hon. Gentleman’s local authority suffered, as Bradford has, from the use of outdated cens...

The hon. Gentleman makes a pertinent and sensible point—that is exactly the case. We have worked ...

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and for the work that he is doing on behalf of not only Pet...

My hon. Friend tempts me down a path that might get me into trouble with the Chairman, but he has...

It is a great delight to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Howarth. It is something I have never ...

May I just set the record straight? I represent a constituency which has had, in no particular or...

Order. All that is very interesting, but I am afraid it needs to lead towards Bulgaria and Romani...

Exactly, and Bulgarians and Romanians will be grateful to have heard precisely that point.

...

The hon. Gentleman is usually well informed, and I am sure this was an oversight, but Germany, al...

It is actively campaigning at the moment to encourage inward migration, and particularly skilled ...

Order. The hon. Gentleman is an experienced Member of the House, and he knows that he should not ...

My inexperience shows itself so frequently that it is a delight to have your experience in the Ch...

I am listening to my hon. Friend’s arguments carefully. Would it be a good idea for the Governmen...

We tend to like opinion polls when we agree with them; if they do not quite agree with us, we dis...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not, if the hon. Gentleman does not mind, because we have to hear the Minister, and we do ...

Order. I call the Minister.

I will finish there.

7.38 pm

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Howarth, in the second half of the de...

It is a privilege to conclude this debate under your chairmanship, Mr Howarth. I am grateful to a...